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StarLight Garage presents another Honda Pikes Peak car who will start next Sunday at Pikes Peak 2015, the Honda HPD ARX-04B LMP2 Coupe 2015.
Yes, it's basically a LMP2 race car ... but the it's also the first car who will compete in Pikes Peak with a fully Carbon body. But this car will be powered by a Honda 3.5-liter V6 twin-turbocharged engine and therefore not the same as the original LMP 2 Endurance race car. LMP2 race cars typically start at 500 horsepower but the Pikes Peak Unlimited class vehicles have been said to produce far more than that.
Honda have fun at Pikes Peak!
A number of different types of Honda and Acura vehicles have taken part in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in recent years, ranging from the Acura NSX to the Honda Fit, and even a high-speed Honda Odyssey, but Honda Performance Development has upped the ante this year by entering one its newest sports cars in the race up the 14,110-foot mountain.
The new Honda-powered HPD ARX-04b LMP2 coupe that competed in this year's Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona has been entered in the 2015 Pikes Peak event, and will be driven by Verizon IndyCar Series race winner and former Formula 1 driver Justin Wilson.
The ARX-04b will be the first full-carbon monocoque vehicle ever sanctioned for PPIHC entry and will be fitted with a 3.5-liter V6 twin-turbocharged engine. The ARX-04b will compete in the Unlimited class, which features highly-modified cars that can navigate the 156 turns of the 12.42-mile course in under 10 minutes.
"This is an exploratory effort, to learn as much as we can in advance of a possible future assault on the outright record [8:13.878, set by Sebastien Loeb in 2013]. We want to see how well our ARX-04b chassis adapts to the rigors of the Climb, and the high-altitude demands placed on our production-based V6 engine," said Art St. Cyr, President of Honda Performance Development. "The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has always been an interesting project for many Honda divisions. The diversity of classes and very open nature of the rulebook continues to be very appealing to Honda and the passions of its associates.
"We're looking forward to this. We hope to have a lot of fun, and we're certainly not holding back with Justin Wilson behind the wheel. We think the fans will enjoy the show, as well."
The ARX-04b, which was developed through a joint effort between HPD and Wirth Research, features energy-efficient technology with low drag and high fuel efficiency and quick change front and rear bodywork. It will be in the capable hands of Wilson, who has made 171 combined starts in Indy Car and Champ Car competition, with seven wins and eight poles.
"It's going to be a lot of fun driving the Honda ARX-04b up the hill and giving it everything I've got," Wilson said. "This is my first time competing at Pikes Peak and I'm really looking forward to the experience. I've run with Honda at the Indy GP and the '500' this year, and also have run Formula E and at the 12 Hours of Sebring. But this will be every bit as difficult as any of them. I'm looking forward to the challenge and working with everyone at Honda."
Honda press release
Fans can adjust to the progress and see pictures and information from the Honda Racing efforts at Pikes Peak by means of
Twitter (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD).
OTHER PIKES PEAK CARS
OTHER HONDA CARS
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